Following is a list of Parameters articles published on PortfolioConstruction Forum throughout 2005...
While Treasury reckons that there is no evidence that tax concessions encourage savings, at the very least, the tax spared within the super environment allows earnings to accumulate more rapidly than if fully taxed (and many advisers will tell you that tax concessions are one of the several drivers of investor behaviour). So why do we still suffer from an abject failure of politicians to embrace widespread personal tax reform, a key efficiency driver for our national economy? Full Story >
What would happen to your family if you died? If recent research from Aviva is anything to go by, the answer is "nothing good"... Full Story >
We’re often asked by advisers who have completed the DFP or equivalent, whether their PS 146 accreditation will allow them to advise on listed securities. The answer may not be quite as simple as you think… Full Story >
The Prime Minister has done a great job of getting personal tax reform back on the agenda. But we need to be wary of band aid cures that really amount to shuffling the deck chairs… Full Story >
It’s commonly taken for granted that self managed superannual funds (SMSFs) can use direct investments as part of the overall portfolio. Here we review the compliance backdrop for SMSFs using direct investments, and give some brief guidance on some of the key issues of which advisers and investors should be aware… Full Story >
Astute advisers should recognise and be able to assess the risks and benefits of constant proportion portfolio insurance in their decision to accept or reject any capital guaranteed product… Full Story >
What’s really driving product innovation? In my view what’s really happening is the introduction of technology into the investment management space, just the same as in every other field of commercial activity… Full Story >
If you watch TV, you can’t avoid the spate of ads from industry funds, putting the boot into the traditional managed funds and financial planning industry. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg… Full Story >
Like the last secret shopper survey, the results of the latest ASIC survey are bad for the industry… Full Story >
Let me be up front about this – I for one don’t care too much about Sharpe Ratios. I think it may be guilty as one of the most grossly overused, and undercritiqued, investment management tools of all times… Full Story >
We are often asked by our financial planning colleagues about the benefits of including direct investments into our client portfolios. In our view, the benefits to the client far outweigh the concerns… Full Story >
Using standard deviation as the sole measure of investment risk overlooks the fact that real investors tend to care much more about downside volatility and far less about volatility when returns are above average... Full Story >
Arbitrage may be described as the buying and selling of assets that are economically equivalent, but which are trading at different prices (for example, buy the cheap asset/sell the expensive asset, to lock in a certain gain)… Full Story >
Why are IMAs and SMAs becoming more topical in Australia and what are the benefits relative to a pooled fund? Full Story >
Over 65% of financial advisers now use and recommend some form of direct investment in client portfolios. Rather than being a peripheral part of a financial planning business, direct investing is now seen as a valuable part of the adviser’s toolbox… Full Story >
Contrary to conventional wisdom, consumers could actually be saving too much for their retirement because their retirement income planning has been based on models that assume their household spending will increase by a certain amount each year during retirement… Full Story >
The financial practice of the future may include facilitating an exploration of clients’ beliefs and emotional relationship with money if they are to realise their goals, writes Richard Kahler, principal of Kahler Financial Group in South Dakota in the US Journal of Financial Planning... Full Story >
The recent case of Terri Schiavo (the woman who died recently after her feeding tube was removed) has thrown into the spotlight the idea of drawing up a living will… Full Story >
The Pensions Loan Scheme may offer a very real alternative to other home equity release products such as reverse mortgages where individuals are simply looking to top up their income, according to a recent Bridges Technical Services Update… Full Story >
Investors are becoming less risk averse in their investment outlook, according to the latest ING Melbourne Institute Household Savings and Investment Report… Full Story >
